Saving Renji
by Byakuya-therosegod
Summary: Renji and Rukia discover that they might consider each other more than just friends. When Renji goes on a mission and doesn't return Rukia goes to the rescue.
1. Practicing my technique

**Practicing my technique**

Renji and Rukia have always been friends, but is there more to it than that?

It's been three months since Ichigo and his friends returned to the world of the living. The Soul Society has been slowly trying to rebuild itself after the damage caused by Sōsuke, Aizen and Ichimaru, Gin.

My powers have still not fully returned since I gave them to Ichigo. I have spent the past months training, trying to regain my strength. Brother Byakuya helps me when he can, but his time is mostly consumed by his duties as a captain.

I practice in a field on the edge of the Seireitei. I come here often. The grass is a welcoming shade of light green that sways back and forth in the wind, waving at me. The sun is beginning to set, reflecting a beautiful combination of pink and orange on my sword. A weeping willow stands in the center of the field. It's branches are reaching down to tickle the grass. Some of the willow's leaves are blowing away in the wind, leaving with summer.

I pull out my Zanpakutō, and begin practice my technique.

I have only been practicing a few minutes when a shadow approaches me. "If you're trying to get better than me, you can give up, it's just not possible". "Is that a challenge Renji?", I ask.

"If you want it to be" he replies. He's already reaching for his Zanpakutō, Zabimaru, so I don't bother responding.

We both know it's against the law to draw your Zanpakutō to fight a fellow soul reaper, but I will never improve my combat abilities if I can't practice.

"Do you trust me not to hurt you" he asks with a smirk, but his tone is dead serious.

"I trust you Renji."

He begins charging towards me, sword drawn. I step to the side and watch him run by, his long red hair trailing behind him. Now I attack, I come at him from behind, but he sees it coming and dodges my blade. He pulls his sword above his head, preparing to strike me, I ready to counter his attack by angling Sode no Shirayuki horizontally in front of my chest.

Zabimaru comes flying down expecting to hit me, but instead meets my Zanpakutō. Sparks go flying. Renji and I are now only a few feet apart.

I look up at him, breathing heavily, when I catch his eye a smile stretches across his faces. "I guess you've been practicing" he says.

I move my sword and step to the side, the force he has been putting on Zabimaru sends his blade flying into the ground. I use a flash step to move swiftly behind him. Sode no Shirayuki is centimeters from his neck, running lengthwise from his left shoulder to his right.

He turns around slowly so that he is facing me, my sword lightly grazing his shoulder as he does so.

My arms were barely long enough to keep my Zanpakutō against his neck, now that he has turned, I have lost my grip on him, dammit.

He takes a step closer, lessening the space between us. His soul reaper kimono is tied loosely, leaving his muscular chest mostly exposed. My eyes trace his intricate black tattooes from his jagged shoulder blades to his abdomen, his skin is smooth and tan from the countless hours he has spent training in the sun.

He takes another step closer, this time planting his foot awkwardly behind my legs. I know what he's about to do, trip me, it's a cheap move.

With his left hand, the hand not occupied with Zabimaru, he pushes me backwards and I stumble over his foot. In a desperate attempt to stop myself from falling I grab Renji's arm, pulling him down with me. Shocked, he drops his sword. He tries to break his fall by putting his arm out (the one I'm not tightly gripping onto).

Well fuck, this is awkward. Renji is on top of me, propping himself up with his hands. His crimson hair is falling down over his head tickling my face.

"Just can't get enough of me, can you?" he mocks.

I try to swat some of his hair out of my face. I cough, maybe on hair, maybe on the pure awkwardness of the situation. "Shut up Renji."

" Well I've got you pinned down now, making me the winner of this battle," he says with pride. "Although it's not like I ever thought you would win."

He's going to keep going on if I don't shut him up. He begins saying something, but I cut him off.

A surprised gasp escapes his mouth before he kisses me back. His lips are dry and cracking in contrast to the smooth inside of his mouth. He's now holding himself up with his elbows, closing most of the gap between us and making it easier for me to kiss him.

He presses harder against my lips, so I do the same. I wonder how long we have hid our feelings for each other. I feel like we are pouring all the passion for each other we have kept hidden into this one kiss, it feels like it will never end, and I don't want it to.


	2. Where's Renji?

Shit, what happened yesterday? Oh yeah, _Renji._

Should I go find him, and talk to him? He's probably training, the sixth division is pretty strict when it comes to training. I should probably go to my squad's barracks to train anyways.

Have Renji and I always had feelings for each other? I mean we've always been friends, I wonder how long he's liked me, or if he likes me at all- ok have to stop thinking about him, it was just a kiss. Obsessing like this is not like me.

I've been training for at least five hours now, Renji's probably done training by now to, it's almost six o'clock.

I walk towards the squad six training quarters. The setting sun is casting long shadows down the street. I see one moving towards me. A tall figure with long hair, Renji? I Look up and am slightly disappointed to see Byakuya. "Have you seen Renji" I ask.

There were a few hollows spotted in a small village in Japan, about 20 kilometers from Karakura town. I sent Renji and a few other members of my squad to kill them as part of their training.

"Oh, thanks brother, see you for diner" I reply, trying to hide my disappointment. I guess I can see Renji tomorrow.

I walk back to the Kuchiki mansion. Byakuya comes home a few hours later and we eat a ridiculously frivolous meal. When we finish I go to sleep thinking about Renji.

I train again today. At lunch I'll try to figure out whether Renji's back.

I run into Toshiro on my way to the squad six barracks, I ask him whether the squad six members who were sent to the world of the living to deal with the hollows have returned.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think so" he says with a frown. At first I wonder if he's frowning because he expected them to be back by now? It's hard to tell with Toshiro, he's almost always been frowning since Momo died, she meant a lot to him.

I return to the field where Renji found me training. The wise willow is still standing in the middle of the field, appearing as if it is holding everything together with it's thick and twisting roots. I practice a few of my keto's, but then I just sit there, thinking about everything that's happened in this field, thinking about Renji.

It's now been three days since Renji and a few others travelled to Japan to fight the hollow's. It should not have taken them this long, I am not the only one who has started to worry.

I passed Byakuya earlier. He was talking to Ukitake and Kyoraku about the mission he sent Renji and the other squad six members on. I lingered around and listened to them for long enough to hear that they to were concerned about how long the squad six members have been in the world of the living.

I wonder if Renji's okay. I'm going to go find out for myself.


	3. Coming to the rescue

I told everyone I was going to visit Ichigo. I needed some kind of excuse if I was going to go find Renji.

Being sick was the first excuse that crossed my mind, but Byakuya would probably get suspicious if I never attended meals, even if I was sick.

I can only hope now that no one decides to try to contact Ichigo to ensure I'm with him. I can't imagine anyone would do that, Ichigo is one of the only friends I have, who would be suspicious of my visiting him. Just in case someone tries to contact him, I'll stop by his house and tell him of my plan to rescue Renji, the squad six members were sent to fight hollows in Karakura town. So stopping by his place won't be out of my way.

Urahara helped me get into the human world, I'm not completely sure as to why he was in the soul society, I can only imagine he was visiting Yoruichi. Those two certainly have an _interesting_ relationship.

I go by Ichigo's house, Karine answers the door and tells me Ichigo is at Orihime's. I explain to her my mission and she promises to tell Ichigo when she next sees him. I've never seen the resemblance between her and her brother. She has dark, shining, shoulder-length hair. She is a strong individual, if I wasn't the bad-ass soul reaper I am, I might be concerned as to whether she would beat me up. Ichigo on the other hand has short orange hair that makes him look relatively harmless, almost pathetic really. "Thanks" I say, before leaving.

I decide to take a train towards the town Renji and the others were sent to. I could have walked, or ran there, but in my gigai I'm constantly running out of energy, so taking the train is faster.

I sit with my faced pressing lightly against the window, staring out at the city in front of me. The train is moving fast enough that I struggle to make out individual buildings, everything has become a blur of gray. I decide to distract myself by eating some of the complementary apple chips the train's waitress offered me.

An electronic voice announces my stop in Japanese and English. I get off the train.

I haven't really thought about where to look for Renji. They left three days ago, I doubt they're still fighting hollows, by now they're probably resting somewhere.

For now the most logical thing to do is rent a hotel room, the sun is setting behind assortment of houses and apartment buildings that populate this neighborhood, meaning it's a little to late to bother looking for Renji .

After walking for twenty minutes I find a cheap looking motel, Crickley's. I have enough money left to stay their for two nights. My room is small, maybe I've grown to accustomed to the grandeur of the Kuchiki manor, but this place is miniscule. The room has one bed that's being held up by four thin poles, it's a good thing I don't weigh very much or I would be a little concerned about the bed collapsing. Across the room from the bed, about two feet, is a door that leads to a small bathroom, I'm a bit scared to use it, I don't want an entire family of racoons sharing the bed with me. The only utility in the kitchen is the microwave, which means I'll be eating grab-n-go burritos for the next two days. I'm too exhausted to continue complaining, but that doesn't mean that there isn't anything else to complain about.

Fortunately this place serves breakfast, that's money saved. "Would you like an egg on toast or Crickley's breakfast special" the 'waitress' asks with a toothy grin. I don't know what this place considers a special, so I order the egg on toast.

The waitress slides a paper plate towards me, I give her a confused look. "It's your breakfast" she grunts. "Thanks" I reply with a forced smile. When I pick up the toast it begins to crumble in my hand, the perfectly cubed yellow object on top the bread wiggles before falling onto my plate. No wonder this is free. I eat half the meal, I'm too broke and too hungry not to, but I'm too spoiled to eat the whole thing.

I pick up the local newspaper, if anything bizarre has happened lately, it will be in this paper, I doubt in a place like this there's much else to write about.

" **Trees Spontaneously Collapse"** the headline reads. Renji is the first thing that crosses my mind. I throw out the rest of my shitty toast and start jogging towards the mysterious forest with spontaneously collapsing trees.

By the time I get there I'm completely out of energy, damn gegai. There's only one trail that twists through the tiny forest. It doesn't take long for me to spot the collapsed trees.

I notice some unusual footprints, probably from a hollow. There are lots of footprints scattered across the forest floor. It's hard to tell if they're from soul reapers or the bored residents of this town who came to see the mysterious collapsing trees. I then spot the small patches of blood on the ground, shit Renji what have you done.

My eyes quickly sweep over the nearby area, in case Renji didn't get to the hospital. I don't see anyone, so I preside to the local hospital.

The building is about as overwhelming as my motel room. I enter the infirmary and look for someone who could tell me where Renji and the others are. I look around but can't see anyone except a young woman sitting in the waiting room. "Where is everyone" I ask. She begins an answer but is cut off by the sound of two people arguing.

"I've been here three days, and all I have is a minor cut! You have to let me go!" screams a male voice. "Sir you punctured an artery, you could have died of blood loss!" the nurse replies, obviously annoyed. "Well I didn't did I, so let me go."

I'm entertained, however Renji can be pretty stubborn and I think the nurse has suffered enough grief.

"Renji shut up for once in your life" I say as I dramatically march into the room. "Rukia" he says, sounding surprised

"I'll leave you two alone" responds the nurse, taking the opportunity to leave the conversation.

"What are you doing here Rukia?"

"You've been gone three days on a simple mission, I figured someone should come rescue you" I replied.

"Do I really look like I need rescuing" he asked.

He did. Something had obviously severed the artery in his left arm, it was covered in bandages that had probably been replaced at least a dozen times. He had three parallel scratches running down his shins, disappearing into his sickening green hospital slippers.

"Yes" I said.

He was probably going to keep going on about how unnecessary my help was, Renji is a little consumed by his pride, but I also wanted to know if the other members of squad six were okay.

"How are the people who came on the mission with you?" I didn't even know who they were, ind of embarrassing.

"The other two who came on the mission with me were Ginjirō Shirogane and his daughter Mihane." Renji explained. "They to were hurt, Ginjirō more than Mihane, but they'll be okay."

"Well that's a relief, honestly Renji, next time you go almost kill yourself at least tell me, that way I can be there to save you." "We can figure out how to get back tomorrow, I have a motel room we can stay in for the night".

Renji arched one of his eyebrows at me, but agreed with the idea.


	4. Clothes can be useful

**Sorry this chapter is kind of shit, feel free to criticize.**

 **xxx**

Renji slept all of the next day after I busted him out of the hospital. I left Ginjirō and Mihane to recover in the hospital, they were both hurt more than Renji and I can't offer them any more medical aid than the doctors. Renji however would probably continue to pester the nurses and I would like to spend some time with him, I'm curious about what happened on the mission.

I hear a groan escape Renji's mouth, he's finally awake. I walk over towards him. The sun is seeping through the thin green curtains, casting shadows across Renji's angular face.

After lying in his bed he rolls over to stand up, the unsturdy bed creaking under his weight.

I say good morning, he complains about being hungry.

"I would not recommend the food here, and I'm not much of a cook, also there's no food in the fridge, so I can't help you".

"Fortunately _I_ didn't spend all of the money I brought with me to the human world" he responds, as if it was somehow my fault that he would have to spend some of the money he brought with him.

"Umm Rukia… I don't have any clothes".

I had forgotten he was wearing the hospital gown and didn't appear to have a change of clothes. "Guess you'll never get breakfast now" I said.

" This isn't a joke" he said angrily, his reddening almost matching the colour of his hair. "It's kinda funny" I said with a snicker.

"How are we ever going to leave, get Ginjirō and Mihane, get back to the Soul Society, If I don't have any pants" he screamed waving his arms in the air.

I couldn't help myself, I was on the floor, laughing my head of. My stomach was beginning to hurt from my laughing so hard. Once I finally calmed down I realized he did have a point. He couldn't go outside if he didn't have any clothes, and I don't particularly like the idea of staying at this crap motel any longer than I have to.

"Ok I have I plan" I said, breaking the slightly awkward silence that followed my intensive laughter.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice curious and slightly desperate.

"How many people in this place _remembered_ _to bring pants_?" I questioned, slightly exasperated.

"Probably _everyone else_ in this building" he said pointing out the obvious.

"Exactly!" I shouted, with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. Still not realizing my plan Renji asked, " What are you getting at?"

I mutter about how much of an idiot he is before explaining my plan. "Ok, so since everyone else in this build probably has a change of clothing in their room, all we need to do is take a pair.

"Won't someone notice us, a tired looking redhead in a hospital gown and you, a black haired nutcase wearing the same thing she's been wearing for the past, how many days?"

"I know you might have forgotten Renji, but we are Soul Reapers".

"Oh right" he replied sounding hurt. "Let's go then".

In Soul Reaper form, we run down the hallway, Renji is pretending he has the mental ability to predict which room will have the best selection of clothes. We finally stop in front of room 18. Renji peeks through the hole on the front of the door, trying to see if anyone is in the room.

"No one in there as far as I can tell, they've probably gone downstairs to eat breakfast" he says, lingering on the word breakfast. As if consciously aware of the situation, his stomach growls.

"What is more important to you? Finding clothes so you can get your squad six members and get back to the soul society or eating a really crappy breakfast".

He mumbles something I don't hear then opens the room door, shutting it behind me.

We start rummaging through the drawers in the room for clothing. It only takes us a few minutes since there are only two dressers in the room, one of which is empty.

There is only one person staying in the room, a small framed, middle aged man, or at least that's what I assume, judging by his clothes.

Renji has rolled down the top half of his gown and is struggling to button up one of the unknown man's shirts. "Have you never buttoned up a shirt?" I asked, with a hint of amusement. He turns towards me looking slightly embarrassed,"That's not it, it's just a little small".

I now see his point, although the shirt fits over his slender figure, it's a little short, exposing his toned abdomen to the world.

"Turn around" I command him.

"Why?"

"I need to get changed" I reply, I can only imagine that I'm blushing more than he is.

I roll my shirt over my head and pull the stranger's on.

"How long does it take?" "I'm having some… problems" I respond. "The opposite as you, my shirt is _way_ too big."

"Meh long shirt dresses, there a hipster thing, I think" he said scratching his head. "Tight shirts that are too short don't look good on anyone, even me. I look like a male stripper."

I snorted in agreement, before I started completely laughing.

"Make any more noise and Mr. Wrong-sized shirts might come back to figure out what is causing the strange laughter coming from his room" Renji pointed out.

I grabbed a couple pairs of jeans before leaving the room.


End file.
